Ruben Amorim aims dig at Wayne Rooney after Man Utd icon slammed 'naive' comment

Ruben Amorim hit back at Wayne Rooney after the Manchester United legend labelled the Old Trafford manager “naive”.

After United were dumped out of the FA Cup by Fulham in a penalty shootout, Amorim said his main goal was to win the Premier League.

That prompted Rooney, working as a BBC pundit, to say: “I think it's a little naive to say they're looking to win the Premier League because from where they are now, they're a long way off that. Get further up the table, I think that's the next step for them.

But Amorim responded angrily to Rooney’s remarks, saying: “I know that in this moment everybody knows everything. I know that and it’s really easy - I was a pundit when I finished my career. I know it’s really easy.

“Our goal is to win the Premier League. Maybe it is not with me. But our goal, as a club, the board, is to win the Premier League like we did in the past.

“I’m not naive, that’s why I’m here, at 40 years old, coaching Manchester United.”

That was clearly a dig at Rooney, who turns 40 later this year and was recently sacked from the manager’s role at Plymouth Argyle. But after Victor Lindelof and Joshua Zirkzee had seen their penalties saved in the shootout that followed a 1-1 draw, Rooney did not hold back in his criticism of United.

He said: “It sums up their season really. Very disappointing. With the amount of top teams already out of the competition, it was a great opportunity for Manchester United. They have fallen short.”

And in a damning indictment of the current state of United, Rooney suggested they will struggle to attract big foreign names, saying: “If I’m a top player playing in a different country and Manchester United came to sign me now, I’d be thinking I’m not sure …”

A second half strike from Bruno Fernandes cancelled out a first header from Calvin Bassey but Fulham keeper Bernd Leno was the hero in the shootout.

And delighted Fulham boss Marco Silva said: “Overall, I believe we deserved to go through to the next stage. I think we were the best team on the pitch. The shootout was a moment for us to embrace the challenge and we did it fantastically.”

Fulham now have a quarter-final tie against Crystal Palace at Craven Cottage to look forward to and Silva said: “That will be harder than this one. They are in great form away from home. It’s going to be a great battle.”